Cass’s Focus had only come back up to 306 when the paladin she’d knocked out with the cold woke up.

  He grunted awake, his head snapping to and fro as he tried to figure out what had happened and where he was. Cass didn’t wait for him to get his bearings.

  “Welcome back,” she said, pulling the rickety chair she’d found amid the crates up in front of him. She’d been kind enough to sit him up, but not kind enough to find a second chair. He had to look up at her from the floor.

  “Demon!” He lunged forward, his arms flexing against his bindings. For now, they held, and he sagged back as it became evident he could not reach her.

  Cass sighed. “Would you believe me if I said I wasn’t?”

  “Lies!”

  “Can you take this a little more seriously?” she asked. “Maybe yell something that isn’t horribly cliche?”

  To his credit, he only glared at her in response to that.

  “I have a couple questions,” Cass continued. “If you answer them, I’ll leave you tied up here with the door open and one of your friends will find you in no time.”

  “I will tell you nothing, demon!”

  Cass pinched the bridge of her nose. There was the carrot. She’d hoped it would be enough. Salos had said it wouldn’t.

  Salos hopped up on the back of the chair, his gold eyes burning down at the man. “Refuse to answer us and we will kill you and hide your body. None will find you until the summer warmth sinks through the glass and turns your flesh to rot.”

  Jeeze, tone that down a little, Cass said.

  His angry tail flick was the only indication he’d heard her.

  “Let’s start with an easy one,” Cass said. “Who are you people?”

  He grinned at her. Or maybe ‘grin’ wasn’t the right word. Grins weren’t that malicious. “We are the Order of the Copper Crescent. The most devout of the Goddess of Fortitude. She of Unyielding Might and True Endings.”

  Identify had told her half of that and simple observation skills had told her the rest. But that was fine. Step one was to get him talking.

  “And why did you lot kidnap me?” This was another question they knew the answer to, or they thought they did, at least.

  “Why would our glorious order capture a demon except to slay you in the name of our goddess?” The fanaticism went through to the eyes. They were crazed.

  “It didn’t look like you all were planning to kill me,” Cass prompted. “Your captain had me in the palm of his hand, yet I was tossed in a cell instead. An odd way to slay demons, if you ask me.”

  “We will slay you in good time. Don’t you worry. As soon as the Copper Crescent rises, we’ll send that twisted soul of yours to our Goddess.”

  Did that mean anything to you? Cass asked Salos.

  Copper Crescent is one of the moons. I wasn’t aware it was associated with Fortitude. In my day, it was a symbol of the Lady of Will. And of the Custodia.

  And this sacrifice business? Cass asked. Was that common back in your day?

  No. Not particularly.

  “You and that dragon are finally going to meet Fortitude tonight,” the paladin cackled.

  “Oh, slaying the dragon too,” Cass cooed. “Finally working up the courage to fight it, then? How long have you been cowering in front of it?”

  “No one but you demons are cowering,” he hissed. “We’ll set you free to the Goddess when you deserve it and not a moment sooner.”

  “Oh, and why does it deserve it now? After all this time? Good behavior?”

  “It’s replacement is on its way,” he grinned.

  “You expect me to believe you found so many demons all at once?” Cass laughed.

  The man smirked. “Why would we keep such a big dragon if there are so many little ones we can snatch today?”

  Looks like we were right, Salos said. Not that we can do anything about it. Do I need to remind you we don’t even know our way out?

  I’m working on it, Cass assured him. So far, she’d stuck to topics she was confident he wanted to talk about. The virtue and strength of his organization, the awful things they planned to do to her, things that made him feel strong. People loved talking about that kind of thing—especially this kind of person.

  This was where it got tricky. He wasn’t going to want to tell her about how to leave or which of his allies controlled the skill separating this part of the building from the rest.

  This was where Cass would have floundered in the past. Earth Cass would have panicked at this point. Whirling thoughts and mounting desperation would have had her blurt the first thing she thought.

  But now, Cass had so much Alacrity time slowed to a crawl. Slyphid Cass had as much time as she needed to craft the right script for what she needed next.

  “Oh, is that all?” Cass asked, affecting a bored tone. “You probably shouldn’t kill the dragon you have then.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” the paladin demanded. Off balance. Confused. Good.

  Now, what was that supposed to mean?

  “Well, you might end up with no dragons if you do,” Cass said with a shrug.

  He glared at her, the gears in his head turning. Did he understand her implication?

  No, he was thinking too much. She needed to spell it out. “I’ve already stopped them.”

  He laughed in her face. “No, you haven’t. Margino and Caelis left ages ago. You couldn’t have caught them!”

  “When was the last time you talked to them?” Cass asked.

  He blinked. “What?”

  “When did you last see them?” Cass repeated, a taunt echoing in her voice.

  She could see the gears turning behind his eyes again. She cut that off with another question. “Did you see me kill your friend? The one on patrol with you?”

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “You killed Genson?”

  Genson was the dead man’s name.

  Genson, the name of the man she’d killed.

  Genson.

  She shoved aside the guilt and remorse, throwing it in the corner with every other horror she’d ignored. She’d have time to unpack that later. When she was safe.

  “Easily,” Cass said, forcing her voice sharp and confident. Forcing a grin to her face, her lips peeling back in a cruel smile. “So tell me, why couldn’t I have killed Margino and Caelis?”

  “But they left after you were captured.”

  Good. This line of questioning would never get where she wanted if they hadn’t.

  Cass snorted as if his statement should matter. “And?”

  “And no one can leave the captain’s perimeter! No one!” he yelled.

  Cass smirked, though inside the panic was rising. It’s the captain’s skill?

  Abyss, I was afraid of that, Salos muttered.

  I can’t beat the captain. He was level 40. So much higher than her level 24.

  But the cultist didn’t need to know that. So, projecting a confidence of someone else, Cass continued goading her victim, “And what makes you so sure?”

  “No one can get through it without his permission.”

  “Is that what he told you?” She leaned back, raising an eyebrow.

  “You can’t trick me, demon. You didn’t kill the extraction team. You haven’t left the Sacred Grounds. You wouldn’t still be here if you could.”

  “Oh no,” Cass said flatly, “You got me. I’m lying about something easily confirmable once you escape my clutches. Why ever would I do that?”

  The cultist’s eyes narrowed. Again, the gears were spinning. What did he believe? She didn’t need him to believe her, not with all his heart. Just a crack of doubt was enough.

  “I’m surprised,” Cass continued before he could organize his thoughts. Before he could come to any hard decisions about whether or not he believed her. It was time to fish for what she actually wanted to know. This was a gamble. He’d probably see through her if she was wrong, but if she was right, escape without fighting the Captain might be possible. “It looks like I know more about how your Captain’s skill works than you do. It’s a shame following a simple pattern of turns is enough to slip through it. It might be an obstacle if it wasn’t.”

  The cultist snorted. “What?”

  Damn. There wasn’t a way out like that then?

  She stuck to her story, anyway. Her eyes widened in fake surprise. “You didn’t know?”

  “The captain’s skill doesn’t have a weakness like that!”

  “Is that what he told you?” Cass asked, the patronizing tone heavy and cloying. “Did he tell you anything about how it works? Have you pressed it at all? Or did you blindly accept it would keep you safe from the rest of the temple? Did you blindly accept he could hold you here all he wanted?”

  “I’m not trapped!” he snarled. “I’m not a demon like you. I am an honorable Paladin of the Copper Crescent! I have his permission to come and go. That’s the only way in or out, demon. Your lies can’t trick me. I don’t know what you think holding me here will accomplish, but you’ll get nothing from me. The Captain’s skill is infallible. Our Goddess granted it to him for his dedication to her cause.”

  Well, that’s about what we expected, Salos said as the man continued ranting.

  Cass kept her displeasure from her face, but it ran rampant across her bond with Salos. If there is another way through the skill, I doubt he knows about it.

  I doubt there is, Salos said. It is sounding increasingly like this is a god’s boon skill. So long as his patron favors him, it will be as if his level, or at least that skill’s level, is many times its listed strength.

  Anything we can do about that?

  Kill him, get him to renounce his goddess, get the goddess to renounce him, or convince him to let you go; I think those are your options.

  Cass hid her scowl. Neither of the new options sounded more achievable than the original two.

  We done with this? Salos asked.

  I guess so. She didn’t have any other questions for him.

  Salos hesitated beside her, his claws flexing over the glass floor.

  Cass raised an eyebrow at him. What?

  You won’t like what I’m going to suggest.

  Cass frowned. What?

  He represents a sizable amount of experience. Salos looked up at her, his gold eyes pointed.

  You’re right. I don’t like where this is going.

  You should kill him.

  I don’t—How did she voice this? It was irrational, wasn’t it? She’d already killed a man. What was a second? She couldn’t even claim it had been self defense. Not really. She’d ambushed them. She’d attacked them.

  She could have continued avoiding them. A way out would present itself, eventually. Killing them hadn’t made her any safer. Hadn’t brought her any closer to escape.

  But it had given her another level.

  And that did make her safer. That was another thimble of power against the next person who attacked her—or who she chose to attack.

  No. None of this was relevant. These were cultists. They did human sacrifice. They kidnapped her. They were kidnapping baby dragons. They had tortured another dragon for years.

  They were evil. Capital E Evil. Maybe even all-caps EVIL.

  If this wasn’t an acceptable target, was anyone?

  Was anyone?

  I don’t want to kill, Cass whispered.

  I know, Salos whispered back. He looked away, his claws sinking into the wood of the chair back. Regret rolled across their bond, cold and sticky against her soul. But leaving him alive is dangerous. When he takes a minute to stop and think, he’ll realize you were looking for a way out.

  And then what? Cass asked. They already know I’m trying to escape. If they had other measures to lock this place down, they would have already activated them. How would this one change that?

  Cass stopped, repeating the question to herself. How could this man change their situation? How could she still use him?

  There are too many unknowns already, Salos insisted. Killing him removes one. He paused, his claws scraped across the wood. I would do it for you if it would give you the experience.

  Cass shook her head. The sketch of a plan was forming. We don’t know where the captain is.

  Frustration bubbled over from Salos. It won’t take us long to find him.

  Will it? Cass asked. We’ve been wandering their halls for ages and haven’t run into him yet. What if he has additional spatial distortions around him?

  Salos scowled at her.

  “Sure, sure,” Cass said as the cultist’s rant ran out of steam. “This has been fun, but I think it’s time to go give your boss another ‘hello’.” Cass twirled her dagger as she turned away from him.

  “Get back here!” the paladin shouted, struggling against his bonds.

  What are you doing? Salos hissed.

  Finding a direct path to our target, Cass said.

  She waved to the paladin and stepped out of the room, leaving the door open a crack. As soon as she was out of sight, she threw up Stealth to its maximum. Abyssal Aura, please.

  Sure, fine, explain what you are doing. Now.

  Cass grinned down at Salos. Would you please slip back in there and discretely release our prisoner?

  What?

  Ideally, in a way he’d believe he slipped out of his bonds himself?

  Why? Salos repeated. You could just kill him. Why would you release him?

  Because dead men can’t convince our enemies that I can leave when I want or show us where their captain is. Dead men can’t confirm whether the dragonlings have already been kidnapped. Dead men are useless to us.

  Salos grumbled. Dead men can’t stab you in the back, either. Dead men are worth more than their share of experience.

  Which do we need right now, Salos? A level or a way out?

  Salos’s grumbles grew louder, but he slipped from her sight without another argument.

  Cass stepped away from the door. A moment later, the paladin burst through it. His head whipped back and forth before he ran down the halls.

  I hope you know what you’re doing, Salos muttered as he hopped onto her shoulder.

  Cass Stealthed after the man, her presence no more notable than a stray gust.

  She hoped so, too.